Hmm. . . Foods for Longevity? Is that possible? Just like our anti aging diet recommendations, these foods suggested by Dr. Maoshing Ni, will help your body function better, live longer and help you lose weight.

Need a 2nd opinion? Dr. Oz produced a little video about foods for longevity. Read about some our suggestions to increase your life below – then come back to this link for the video.

Swap Green Tea for Coffee

For many people, the first thing they reach for in the morning is coffee. Caffeine acts as a CNS (central nervous system) stimulant, causing you to experience stress, anxiety, a racing mind, and even insomnia.

For a calmer energy boost, cut the coffee and go for green tea. On average, a cup of green tea contains about one sixth of the amount of caffeine you would get from the same cup of coffee.

Even better, green tea is full of powerful antioxidants that ward off cancer, and tea is a proven preventive and treatment for atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Also, when combined with exercise, green tea can help you lose weight.

Stress reduction, antioxidant cancer fighter and weight loss management make this one of the great foods for longevity.

Try trailmix in place of fatty snacks

Carry dried fruits and nuts with you as healthy snacks to replace any unhealthy ones you usually eat. Just a handful every day can help improve circulation and muscle tone.

Research shows that many of these nuts and seeds are rich sources of vitamin E, lignans, and omega-3 fatty acids, which help prevent heart disease and protect you from the ravages of aging.

Peanuts are one of the sources of resveratrol. Not only do peanut eaters, on average, have lower body fat than non-peanut eaters, but resveratrol has been shown to extend life in mice and worms. Peanuts are definitely one of the foods for longevity.

Swap Red Wine For White Wine

The skin of grapes is really where some of the most powerful nutrients like resveratrol reside. Without the skin, most of the grape is just sugar and water.

Red wine is made with the skins as part of the fermentation process. The duration that the skin is in contact with the wine adds bountiful numbers of healthy vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

In making white wine, the skins are removed and thus the antioxidant content is much lower. If you’re looking for foods for longevity enhancement, avoid the white.

Switch brown rice for white rice

Modern staples around the world often include refined bread, pasta, rice, and corn. These carbohydrates that have been found to be the culprits in serious conditions like diabetes, stroke, and heart disease, arthritis, and allergies. And there is no question that refined carbohydrates contribute directly to weight gain.

So change to whole grains to get complex carbohydrates; said another way, swap “white” for “brown”. Substitute white rice, bread, and pasta with brown rice, whole wheat bread, and whole wheat pasta. Other “browns” will bring you anti-aging benefits also. Quinoa and amaranth are two tasty grains rich in protein and easy to cook. Millet, sorghum, and buckwheat are packed with B vitamins. Great foods for longevity.

Swap fish for red meat

Red meat does have some health benefits-when eaten in moderation. However, studies have shown that men and women who eat meat every day are three times as likely to develop breast cancer and prostate cancer as those who almost never eat high-fat animal foods.

Of all animal products, fish is the healthiest because of its high protein and low-fat content. In fact “wild caught salmon” is consider a Super Food and is almost always the only protein on that list. The omega-3 fatty acids in fish, along with other nutrients, protect blood vessels from plaque, reduce inflammation, and prevent high blood pressure.

If you just can’t leave the red meat behind, choose only free-range, grass-fed, and hormone- and antibiotic-free lean meat, and eat it no more than three times a week.

Use olive oil instead of butter

Butter is the bad kind of fat. Also included in this saturated fat category: peanut oil, coconut oil, palm kernel oil, and lard. All of these elevate cholesterol and triglyceride levels, leading to an increased chance of heart attack and stroke.

Switch for olive oil or one of the other monounsaturated fats, which increase good cholesterol and protect you from heart disease and premature skin aging. Others include canola oil, rice bran oil, walnut oil, flaxseed oil, peanut oil, and sesame oil. Like butter on your bread? Try hummus instead.

Extra Virgin Olive oil is not only one of the great foods for longevity, but is also considered a Super Food.

Swap sweet potatoes for potatoes

While filling, potatoes just do not contain the nutritional benefits of sweet potatoes. Yams and sweet potatoes are powerhouse foods that contain higher amounts of beta-carotene and vitamin C than carrots, more protein than wheat and rice, and more fiber than oat bran. They are also rich in plant DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone)-a precursor hormone that is essential for the body’s anti-aging defenses to work.

Swap berries for refined sweets

The average American consumes nearly 240 pounds of sugar per year. Most of the excess sugar from candies, pastries, sodas, and other refined sweets end up being stored as fat in your body, resulting in weight gain and elevating heart disease and cancer risk.

Instead, satisfy your sweet tooth with a berry tasty treat: blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cranberries, and cherries. Berries are rich in antioxidants that fight free radicals and can also help remove toxic residue from the system, which is often the cause of chronic fatigue and low energy

Blueberries are another great source of resveratrol, are full of other healthy nutrients and are easy to grow at home.

Switch to water in place of soda

Soda pop is very high in phosphorus, which in excess actually causes calcium loss from your bones, possibly leading you to osteoporosis. Diet soda is filled with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame or saccharin, which have shown dangerous results in tests with laboratory animals. Your best beverage is filtered water, which flushes your system of the chemicals and toxins that you encounter every day.
From Foods For Longevity to Secrets to Longevity

Source: I found the bulk of this article on Dr. Mao’s Yahoo! Health page. 95% of that “Foods for Longevity” article is here. I added some stuff where I thought additional information would be useful.

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